The interior of a burial casket is typically lined with a covering material such as an upholstered fabric. This provides an aesthetic look for the casket when displayed. Inside the lid of the casket, this lining material is often secured to structural components which include a center panel surrounded by a frame. These structural components are usually referred to as a dish, and the frame portion thereof is commonly referred to as "puffing". The term puffing generally describes the raised and curved look of this frame portion. The upholstered fabric which forms the external surface of the dish may be one of a wide variety of colors and/or patterns, so that a customer may select a preferred design and/or pattern. The internal structure of the dish is generally of cardboard or chipboard construction, and the components thereof are mechanically secured together to form a structure which conforms to and is secured within the hollow interior of the casket lid.
To eliminate the need to manufacture a separate casket for each different dish design, the dish is made to be removable from the interior of the casket lid. However, in the past, the mounting of a fabric-lined casket dish to the interior of a casket lid has been a relatively difficult, time consuming and expensive procedure. Prior techniques for this task have included stapling or securing a channel into a cooperating groove formed in a rim around the casket lid, followed by insertion into the plastic channel of the edges, or flaps, of the dish. To ensure retention of the dish within the channel of the lid, a cylindrically-shaped, ropelike strip formed of paper or rubber is then pressed into the channel. The strip is referred to in the industry as a gimp.
The use of a gimp to secure the dish to the lid of a casket has resulted in misalignment of the dish and an unevenness in appearance at locations along the channel where the gimp is improperly seated. These problems become multiplied in situations where, for one reason or another, a variety of different dish designs must be connected to the same casket lid. In these instances, the in place fabric-lined dish must be removed and a new dish installed. Often, this must be done by a funeral director or other representative, who may not be as mechanically adept as the workers in the casket factory, or who may not have the intimate knowledge of the casket structure necessary for repeatable and accurate installation of different dishes to the casket lid.
Prior attempts have been made to eliminate the need for using a gimp to mount a fabric-lined dish to a casket lid. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,639,985, issued to the assignee of this application, discloses use of a flexible channel member which attaches to the interior of a casket lid and releasably retains the flexible edges of the dish. Because of the structure of the channel, and particularly its flexibility due to a spring member, this patent eliminates the need for a gimp. However, this solution still relies upon the use of multiple channels for connecting the dish to the casket lid. If these channels are not seated within a groove around the casket lid in a uniform manner, along their entire lengths, the dish will not be accurately mounted to the casket lid. Inaccurate mounting reflects poorly on the casket manufacturer.
Additionally, the use of multiple channels requires multiple steps when changing to a new dish, provided each of the channels is removed when the dish is changed. Alternatively, if the channels remain in place during changeover to a new dish, it is often necessary to manipulate and/or bend the actual dish structure to free it from within the channels and to retrieve the dish from the interior of the lid. Due to space considerations, it is sometimes difficult and awkward to manipulate the dish from within the channel while the dish remains mounted to the interior of the hingedly connected casket lid. As a result, it is relatively easy to damage the dish during removal from or connection to the lid. With this structure, the components of the dish must be assembled together prior to mounting to the lid.
Additionally, with these prior art dish constructions, the puffing and the center panel are usually secured together prior to shipping. Because the puffing includes four separate raised sections, this requires additional space during shipping, compared to the flat components. Also, in the secured condition, the puffing of the dish is susceptible to damage during shipping.
It is an object of this invention to reduce the time and cost associated with securing and unsecuring a dish to the interior of a casket lid.
It is another object of the invention to eliminate the disadvantages associated with using multiple components, such channels, with or without a gimp, to secure a dish to the interior of a casket lid.
It is still another object of the invention to optimize simplicity in changing the dish of a casket lid, while minimizing the costs associated therewith and the potential for damaging the dish during such changeover.
It is yet another object of the invention to achieve accurate and repeatable mounting of a dish to a casket lid, while at the same time reducing the shipping costs of the dish and the damage susceptibility of the dish during shipping.
The present invention achieves the above-stated objects by using a unitary, recessed insert, preferably of plastic, which snaps into and out of engagement with the lid of a casket, and which removably holds a dish in a central, seated position therein.
This snap-in, recessed insert snaps into the interior of the lid about the entire inside periphery thereof, thereby assuring accurate and repeatable seating of the recessed insert to the interior of the lid in a relatively simple manner, without requiring tools. The recessed insert includes an outwardly extending ledge which engages an internal edge of a flange around the interior of the casket lid, and the recessed insert also includes an outwardly extending rib located opposite the flange edge so that the flange edge is held between the rib and the outer ledge. The snap-in recessed insert also includes an inwardly directed ledge, or inner ledge, which holds corresponding upper edges of the dish. More particularly, this inner ledge holds the upper edges of the four puffing sections of the dish. The dish is shaped to fit within a central depression formed in the recessed insert. The recessed insert provides internal support for the dish and assures accurate positioning of the dish with respect to the casket lid. The recessed insert is sufficiently deformable to allow snap-in connection to and disconnection from the casket lid.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a unitary, recessed insert has a shape which conforms in depth characteristics to the lid of a casket, and the recessed insert includes an outwardly extending ledge and a spaced rib for allowing the insert to be snap fit into the interior of a casket lid via a flange edge around the periphery of the lid. Because of the shape and orientation of the recessed insert, and particularly the outer ledge and rib, with respect to the interior of the casket lid, the snap-in connection can only be achieved if the recessed insert is completely seated within the lid. This snap-in connection assures accurate and repeatable locating of the recessed insert with respect to the lid during securement, every time a recessed insert is installed. The recessed insert also has an inner or inwardly extending ledge which holds the upper edges of the puffing. Finally, as noted above, the recessed insert includes peripheral walls defining a central depression commensurate in depth with that of the casket lid. This central depression helps to center the panel insert of the dish.
Compared to prior designs for attaching a dish to the interior of a casket lid, particularly those involving the use of a gimp, the present invention assures accurate and repeatable positioning of different dish designs within the interior of a casket lid while requiring less time and cost. This is due to the unitary structure of the recessed insert and its snap-in capability with respect to the casket lid, and the ability to readily mount different dishes to the insert. This invention provides accurate and repeatable changeover from one dish to another, with relative simplicity compared to making such a changeover with prior art dish support structures.
Dish changeover may take place with the recessed insert mounted to the casket lid, or separately therefrom. However, when the recessed insert is removed from the casket lid prior to replacing a seated dish with a substitute dish, replacement is more convenient because it occurs outside of the physical restrictions imposed by the casket and its hingedly connected lid, thereby reducing the susceptibility to damaging the dish during changeover.
Because of the shape and configuration of the recessed insert of this invention, the dish components may be shipped separately, in an unsecured condition, and then separately mounted to the recessed insert. This eliminates an assembly step at the factory, reduces shipping costs because the puffing sections remain flat until installation and further reduces the susceptibility to damage for the puffing sections during shipping.
To install the unsecured dish components, a backing member shaped to fit within the central depression of the recessed insert is placed therein. Four separate puffing sections are then located around and preferably secured to the perimeter of the backing member, via inner folded edges. These folded edges are preferably retained by an inwardly directed rib located adjacent the bottom of the central depression of the recessed insert. The puffing sections may be secured to the backing member, either before or after placement of the backing member in the central depression. For each puffing section, the upper edge thereof is folded outwardly to form an arc, and the upper edge is located and secured by the inner ledge of the recessed insert. A panel insert is then placed within the central depression, in contact with the backing member, to hold the puffing sections in place.
The recessed insert of this invention may be configured to retrofit various different types of casket lids, so long as the outer ledge and outer rib are sized and shaped to snap connect to a flange or other supporting structure of the lid. The recessed insert may also be used with either metal or wood caskets.
These and other features of the invention will be more readily understood in view of the following detailed description and the drawings